Deep Tech Germany - Startups and Venture Capital

Happy 2023, as well as a happy Chinese New Year of the Rabbit. 2023 Chris and Joe will again bring you startup news once a month (with a small summer break) wrapping up what was going on — and we found noteworthy — in the GSA / DACH startups scene. OUR HIGHLIGHTS: WeFox is under fire for growing with acquisitions of insurance broker pools, BioNTech makes largest acquisition in its history, DeepL confirms unicorn status and snipes at Grammarly, Solarisbank in trouble with BaFin, Trade Republic has to disclose numbers and Sono Motors gets longer runway with EU money. Let’s talk startups: SUBSCRIBE HERE Find all options to subscribe to our newsletter, podcast, YouTube channel or listen to our internet radio station here: https://linktr.ee/startupradio [https://linktr.ee/startupradio] OUR ENABLERS INVEST-IN-HESSEN This show was made possible by Hessen Trade and Invest with their brand Invest-in-Hessen. You can learn more about them here (https://www.invest-in-hessen.com/ [https://www.invest-in-hessen.com/]). We also run a dedicated sub-podcast with all interviews and news in cooperation with them. Look for Tech Startups Germany here: https://linktr.ee/startupradio [https://linktr.ee/startupradio] STARTUPRAVEN.COM The best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups. Sign up for early access here: Startup Raven [https://startupraven.com/] TOP NEWS WEFOX GOT SOME SPLAINING TO DO 🙂 Extensive, but not favorable coverage of insurtech Wefox came out this month. The main complaints are that the growth is basically driven by acquiring existing pools of insurance brokers (not really what you would associate with an insurtech startup). They made that way 600 million Euros in revenue in 2022. But these pools do not get innovative systems from WeFox, or innovative insurance offers from them, they just keep working. Also, there has been no innovative product that really drove the growth at WeFox as an innovative unicorn BIONTECH MAKES THE LARGEST ACQUISITION TO DATE BioNTech may be one of Germany’s most successful startup companies. We talked about it in our news before, the company alone is responsible for approximately half a percentage point of Germany’s GDP Growth in 2021 — Keep in mind that Germany is the 4th largest country in the world by nominal GDP. Here is the new piece: Mainz-based pharma company BioNTech (famous for their corona vaccine) makes the largest acquisition in its history with UK-based AI startup Instadeep Related: BioNTech’s founder on the future of mRNA technology COLOGNE-BASED DEEPL CONFIRMS UNICORN STATUS AND SNIPES AT GRAMMARLY DeepL takes aim at Grammarly with the launch of Write, to clean up your prose. Related: Cologne-based translation tool DeepL confirms unicorn valuation for their 2022 fundraising of 100 mn US$ SOLARISBANK JOINS N26 IN TROUBLES WITH BAFIN Bafin is Germany’s bank oversight body (think FSA or SEC). They have already limited the number of customers N26 can acquire due to lapses in following regulations (especially AML), now Solarisbank is in too: “Solarisbank in Germany can now only get new partners (fintech clients) with permission of German finance oversight BaFin, due to continuing problems. BaFin also sends an “observer” TRADE REPUBLIC UPDATES Trade Republic generates more than 1 bn Euros inflows of new client money with 2% interest rate offer and a lot of favorable press coverage. Also, Trade Republic has to publish their numbers: There is a legal requirement in Germany to publish your balance sheet 12 months after your business year ends. Now it was the Republic’s turn: Berlin-based neobroker unicorn Trade Republic triples revenue and losses SONO MOTORS GETS MORE RUNWAY emobility startup Sono Motors gets additional 1,4 million Euros from EU Horizont Program reports Der Spiegel BLOG POST WITH SHOW NOTES AND LINKS https://medium.com/startuprad-io/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-january-2023-555a513fdd6c [https://medium.com/startuprad-io/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-january-2023-555a513fdd6c] #startup #startupnews #news #businessnews #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #germany #austria #switzerland #fintech #fintechnews #startupradio Mentioned in this episode: Startupraven.com Startupraven.com The best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups. Sign up for early access here: https://startupraven.com/ This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policy Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Welcome to This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups, our startup news wrap-up for December 2022 by Startuprad.io with Chris from New York City and Joe from Frankfurt. We recorded this news episode on December 19th, 2022. Keep in mind, this news episode covers everything since our last news episode. As always: All news not yet included here will be published in our next news episode, which will be January 2023, the first news for 2023. Guys, another year is over! Find all links to the quoted news on our Medium blog, link below OUR HIGHLIGHTS: Enpal makes huge fundraising in the current environment, more than 800 mn €. Sennder doubles its valuation in the next funding round to 2 bn US$ and has already 60 mn commitments. The funding environment may be bleak, but investors announced new funds for VC and PE investments worth 3.1 bn US$ targeting startups and scaleups in GSA or Europe. One blog asks if the time of Rocket Internet is over, Matter Labs raises 200 mn, a big heist drives a startup into insolvency and Getir buys Gorillas for 1,2 bn US$, a far cry from Gorillas' former 3 bn US$ valuation. Let's talk startups: TOP NEWS ENPAL FUNDRAISING Enpal could double its valuation in the new funding round. Berlin-based unicorn Enpal closes €855 million in debt funding to accelerate the adoption of solar energy. SENNDER RAISES NEW FUNDS AT DOUBLE VALUATION Digital forwarder unicorn Sennder is raising new money, at a  2 bn US$ valuation. According to the report, they already have  60m commitments. FUNDRAISING FOR VCS WENT QUITE WELL - MORE THAN 3.1 BN EUROS WORTH OF NEW INVESTMENT FUNDS HAVE BEEN CLOSED The largest is EQT Ventures. It has Money if your startup needs it: EQT Ventures III closes Europe's largest venture capital fund committed to early-stage tech startups. The money will go to early-stage startups in Europe and North America. For more funds, wait for our later section with new fund announcements. A service for our audience: Learn more and send in pitches here: https://eqtgroup.com/current-portfolio/funds/eqt-ventures-iii [https://eqtgroup.com/current-portfolio/funds/eqt-ventures-iii] HAS ROCKET INTERNET ALREADY SEEN ITS BEST YEARS? "Mucho trouble over at Rocket Internet," wrote Robin Wauters in his readworthy newsletter for Tech.eu. The article asks if their era is over. Staff cuts and investment stop point in that direction. STARTUP BRAND RANKING Jung von Matt publishes their annual  GERMAN STARTUP BRAND RANKING Some of the top 50 startup brands are known from our news: About You, Flink, Numa Group, getquin, Vivid, Flaschenpost, Tier Mobility, Zolar, Enpal, Sono Motors, Trade Republic MATTER LABS RAISES 200 MN US$ Matter Labs, the Berlin, Germany-based developer of zkSync, a solution that reduces the cost of Ethereum transactions, raised $200M in Series C funding https://buff.ly/3UorChp [https://buff.ly/3UorChp] NOT OCEANS ELEVEN, BUT STILL BIG Berlin-based luxury watch marketplace Watchmaster was one of the largest marketplaces of its kind. After a spectacular robbery where 10 m € worth of watches have been stolen the company has to file for insolvency https://buff.ly/3Fi3qsG [https://buff.ly/3Fi3qsG] GETIR BUYS GORILLAS AND IT IS NOT GOING WELL FOR THE GORILLAS FOUNDER First, this kind of news appeared: Getir will take over Gorillas soon - according to press reports. The negotiations have been dragging on for some time now. Then, we got the confirmation: Getir acquires German competitor Gorillas in $1.2 billion deal - where Gorillas was once valued at 3 bn US$ HOUSEKEEPING & TIME TO BRAG We will be back in the new year 2023 with the first new episode towards the end of January, as far as we can tell right now. Our schedule got a bit screwed up. Sorry! Joe got featured on TopTierStartups.com: Want To Know About German-Language Startups? Joe Menninger Is Your Guy | https://buff.ly/3gJtbZB [https://buff.ly/3gJtbZB] Oh, one more thing: We got our wrap-up from Spotify and it turns out that we are in the global top 5% of most shared podcasts on Spotify. Thank you audience! NEWS LINKS AND SHOW NOTES ON OUR MEDIUM BLOG: https://medium.com/@startuprad_io/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-december-2022-wrap-up-3dbea94ff37 [https://medium.com/@startuprad_io/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-december-2022-wrap-up-3dbea94ff37] Mentioned in this episode: Younium is the Subscription Management Hub for B2B SaaS Companies Younium is the Subscription Management Hub for B2B SaaS Companies. Whether you’re looking to expand to new markets, experimenting with pricing models, or simply want a streamlined quote to cash process - Younium got your back. On top of that, Younium Insights provides the SaaS metrics you need for reporting to the board and for future company valuation. It gives you the key figures needed to drive your business forward and take strategic decisions. Learn more here https://www.younium.com/ Startupraven.com Startupraven.com The best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups. Sign up for early access here: https://startupraven.com/ This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policy Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9am.works is a startup platform explicitly designed for freelancers. Founded by Marc, a serial entrepreneur formerly with Team Europe Ventures and the founder of Sommelier Prive, Huus, code control, and 9am.works. The platform makes it easy for freelancers to find jobs, invoice clients, and get paid quickly and securely — most for free! It also helps companies work with freelancers, from searching and hiring to payment processing. Bootstrapped since its launch in 2016, 9am.works is transforming how freelance work is being done. > We take a lot of the pain points from companies that work with many freelancers. > Marc Clemens, Founder and CEO 9am.works SUBSCRIBE HERE The Authority on German, Swiss and Austrian Startups | Linktree [https://linktr.ee/startupradio] > We worked with a law firm to build a compliance hub for working with freelancers. > Marc Clemens, Founder and CEO 9am.works EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9am.works is a startup platform explicitly designed for freelancers. Founded by Marc, a serial entrepreneur formerly with Team Europe Ventures and the founder of Sommelier Prive, Huus, code control, and 9am.works. The platform makes it easy for freelancers to find jobs, invoice clients, and get paid quickly and securely - most for free! It also helps companies work with freelancers, from searching and hiring to payment processing. Bootstrapped since its launch in 2016, 9am.works is transforming how freelance work is being done. THE FOUNDER Marc is originally from Schwaben (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabia]), an area rich in entrepreneurial culture and home to some of the most iconic German companies, like Bosch and Benz. The Würth family is also from this same region, famous for their products related to screws, nails, and other construction items. He chose to pursue higher education abroad by studying at St. Gallen in Switzerland, UC San Diego, and later HEC in Paris. This exposure helped equip him with the skills needed to be a successful startup founder - something he has since become known for. His roots may have provided him with an initial spark of inspiration, but Marc's hard work has allowed him to carve out his own place in the business world. A serial entrepreneur, he has a wealth of experience not only with Team Europe Ventures (now team global, founded by Lukasz Gadowski https://teamglobal.net/) and also in founding his own startups. Unfortunately, his venture Sommieler Prive did not succeed, leading to a period of tiredness and burnout. Thankfully, this entrepreneur is sharing his learnings from this experience in interviews to help others avoid the pitfalls of a similar situation. His advice provides powerful insights into how to navigate entrepreneurism without suffering excessively from burnout. After this, he was freelancing for some time. This leads him to the idea of Code Control (which he still runs), a community for IT freelancers. This again developed into the idea of 9am.works, for all freelancers, not only for IT talent. In between, he co-founded with his wife the HUUS soundproof phone booths startup (you may have seen them in a coworking space before) https://en.huus.io/ [https://en.huus.io/]. THE STARTUP If you are a freelancer in need of assistance with the various steps of working with a company, 9am.works is the perfect platform for you! They provide sales solutions, and project management services free of charge for all freelancers and offer to work along any other steps needed for successful contracting. They also offer a payment solution, but this one is not for free. Thanks to their subscription software options as well as chargeable services on an à la carte basis, companies can enjoy 9am's personalized range of packages. 9am.works is the ideal solution when it comes to making sure that everything related to contracting with companies is seamless and stress-free; in addition, its 'freelancer' feature enables knowledge workers to easily search and find employment opportunities that match their needs and goals. 9am has revolutionized the way companies find freelance services. By using a Software as a Service model, 9am provides comprehensive tiers of services to companies on the lookout for affordable contracting and compliance solutions. Not only that, but 9am also makes it easier and faster to pay freelancers since they provide businesses with one consolidated invoice, eliminating the need to onboard individual freelancers. With 9am, service delivery has never been simpler or more straightforward. VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDING 9am.works is finance with the cash flow from code control. They are interested in investors who can invest 8 digit tickets. They may look for funding mid to end of 2023. > "We have unlimited holidays for employees at 9am.works" > Marc Clemens, Founder and CEO of 9am.Works 9AM.WORKS IS HIRING You can learn more about the company, that is still hiring and gives you unlimited vacation learn more on our blogpost. ALL LINKS AND SHOW NOTES Here is our blog post: https://medium.com/startuprad-io/9am-works-is-the-operating-system-for-freelancers-147aa19d6679 [https://medium.com/startuprad-io/9am-works-is-the-operating-system-for-freelancers-147aa19d6679] Mentioned in this episode: Younium is the Subscription Management Hub for B2B SaaS Companies Younium is the Subscription Management Hub for B2B SaaS Companies. Whether you’re looking to expand to new markets, experimenting with pricing models, or simply want a streamlined quote to cash process - Younium got your back. On top of that, Younium Insights provides the SaaS metrics you need for reporting to the board and for future company valuation. It gives you the key figures needed to drive your business forward and take strategic decisions. Learn more here https://www.younium.com/ Startupraven.com Startupraven.com The best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups. Sign up for early access here: https://startupraven.com/ This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policy Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Jochen Engert won the German Startup Award 2022 as German Entrepreneur of the Year. He is the co-founder of Munich-based Flix a unicorn recently valued at 3 bn US$ and the owner of Greyhound Lines. He shares in this interview his entrepreneurial journey, and his experience in winning 90% of the local long-distance bus market in less than a decade, without owning even one bus. We talk about the rough times during COVID when the service was shut down for 8 weeks, their expansion into different countries, acquisitions, and investments. He also shares some experience from his business angel investments. > “We are getting to profitability pretty soon” > Jochen Engert Co-Founder Flix SUBSCRIBE HERE The Authority on German, Swiss and Austrian Startups | Linktree [https://linktr.ee/startupradio] > “Our families, even our girlfriends thought we were crazy leaving our consulting jobs to start this ‘bus thing’.” > Jochen Engert Co-Founder Flix GERMAN STARTUP AWARDS 2022 This interview is in media partnership with the German startup association (Bundesverband Deutscher Startups https://deutschestartups.org/ [https://deutschestartups.org/]). Their German Startup Awards #GSA22 honor each year outstanding female and male founders and investors in special categories. You can learn more about the winners in our interviews and on this website: https://germanstartupawards.de/rueckblick/rueckblick-2022 [https://germanstartupawards.de/rueckblick/rueckblick-2022] You can also have a look at our history, we also interviewed many winners of the German Startup Awards 2021 already. > “Our initial hypothesis was that you need one central player to orchestrate in order to put up a national network.” > Jochen Engert Co-Founder Flix THE FOUNDER Our guest today is Jochen, the Supervisory Board Director (formerly CEO) and Co-Founder of Munich-based mobility unicorn startup Flix (formerly Flixbus). Jochen studied at the University of Ottawa, Canada, as well as at Stuttgart University and in Koblenz at WHU. He has also been a consultant at Boston Consulting Group for 5 years, prior to starting Flix. > “If you want to be a founder, you are always on sales, to clients, investors, and also people you want to hire” > Jochen Engert Co-Founder Flix The trigger of Flix was the 2009 coalition government contract, where the ruling parties stated they wanted to de-regulate the bus service in Germany, for the first time permitting long-distance buses. Before the de-regulation there was a law in force forbidding long-distance bus connections, competing with train service. So they founded GoBus, later re-branded to FlixBus, then to Flix. > “ … for all operational complex businesses: Operational excellence, passion for detail and laser focus on customer centricity and ultimately customer technology … that is something that compounds, …. Building ultimately a competitive advantage, that is very hard to impossible to replicate ” > Jochen Engert Co-Founder Flix THE STARTUP Flix started as GoBus, later FlixBus (https://global.flixbus.com/ [https://global.flixbus.com/]). Today they operate FlixBus, FlixTrain, FlixCar, Kâmil Koç in Turkey, and Greyhound Lines in the US. They were valued at 3 bn US$, when they raised their last VC round (Series G published in June 2021). They raised in total more than 1,2 bn US$ from 17 investors, including General Atlantic, TCV, Silver Lake HV Capital, Permira, BlackRock, European Investment Bank, UVC Partners, Mercedes Benz Group, LMU Entrepreneurship Center, and Cherry Ventures (you can find an interview with Filip, the founding partner of Cherry Ventures here [https://medium.com/startuprad-io/meet-filip-one-of-germanys-most-successful-early-stage-vcs-cherry-ventures-gsa22-b344a9169b89]). Flixbus operates buses or, in many cases, just handles marketing, pricing, and customer service for a commission on their software platform, on behalf of bus operators. In 2018 — just 6 years after its founding — the company had a 90% market share of intercity bus travel in Germany. This was a result of mergers and acquisitions in the country. At the time and to this day, they don’t own a bus in Germany. They have a long success story of acquisitions: * 2014: Meinfernbus * 2016: Megabus in Central Europe * 2016: Postbus of German mail operator “Deutschen Post” * 2017: Hellö from Austrian Railway Operator “Österreichischen Bundesbahnen” * 2018: Swebus in Sweden * 2018: Polskibus.com in Poland * 2019: Eurolines with European routes * 2019: Kâmil Koç, in Turkiye * 2021: Greyhound Lines in the USA Their clientele is also interesting, as of February 2018, 60% of the company’s customers were female and 33% were between the ages of 18 and 25. > “ We now operate more than 5.000 destinations. That would be impossible with the right scalable software.” > Jochen Engert Co-Founder Flix VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDING Their last published funding was published in June 2021, raising 650 m US$ at a 3 bn US$ valuation. ALL LINKS AND SHOW NOTES Here is our blog post: https://medium.com/startuprad-io/meet-the-german-entrepreneur-of-the-year-co-founder-of-flix-which-now-owns-greyhound-gsa22-1c3681ebafac [https://medium.com/startuprad-io/meet-the-german-entrepreneur-of-the-year-co-founder-of-flix-which-now-owns-greyhound-gsa22-1c3681ebafac] Mentioned in this episode: Startupraven.com Startupraven.com The best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups. Sign up for early access here: https://startupraven.com/ Younium is the Subscription Management Hub for B2B SaaS Companies Younium is the Subscription Management Hub for B2B SaaS Companies. Whether you’re looking to expand to new markets, experimenting with pricing models, or simply want a streamlined quote to cash process - Younium got your back. On top of that, Younium Insights provides the SaaS metrics you need for reporting to the board and for future company valuation. It gives you the key figures needed to drive your business forward and take strategic decisions. Learn more here https://www.younium.com/ This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policy Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Filip is a founding partner of Cherry Ventures, one of Germany’s most important seed investors. Their portfolio includes unicorns like Flixbus, Auto1 Group, Forto, Infarm, and well-known startups like Amorelie, Kitchen Stories, Flaschenpost, Spryker, and Superlist. Their portfolio also includes our former guests: Qualifyze, Sanity Group, and Rows. Filip has a background as an entrepreneur himself, so he and Cherry approach startup investing differently. Tune in to learn more about him and the VC. > “We have software helping us to find good startups, for example, if you are head of product at a good startup and change your title to ‘working on something new’ we get notified.” > Filip Dames, Founding Partner Cherry Ventures SUBSCRIBE HERE We are always sharing new resources with you. Find all of our options below. The Authority on German, Swiss and Austrian Startups | Linktree [https://linktr.ee/startupradio] > “I really believe an investor should be stage focused” > Filip Dames, Founding Partner Cherry Ventures THE FOUNDER Filip Dames has had an accomplished career, starting out as an intern in Malaysia with DaimlerChrysler, at BCG, and Sony BMG in New York City. Following his venture into the corporate world, he then founded a collectible marketplace called Tamundo. There he went on to oversee the international expansion of Zalando and become the founder and CEO of Zalando Lounge (Zalando’s shopping club). The venture was a success, helping Zalando to go public in 2014. He decided to leave the company, making his 30th birthday also his Zalando farewell party. From there Filip decided to venture off and focus on venture capital; so it came as no surprise when he started Cherry Ventures in 2013 in Berlin as business angel and startup investor. With tickets of 10.000–50.000€ they are dedicated to helping Germany, Europe, and beyond with investments for entrepreneurs wanting to make their visions reality. > “We invest almost exclusively in Europe” > Filip Dames, Founding Partner Cherry Ventures CHERRY VENTURES Cherry Ventures (https://www.cherry.vc/ [https://www.cherry.vc/]) is an early-stage venture capital fund founded and led by former entrepreneurs. They are focusing on European seed-stage companies in the B2B and B2C space. Cherry invests there at the pre-seed- and seed stage with initial tickets between €500k and €5M. > “Founders first and investors second” is the motto of Cherry Ventures They started out with their first fund with their own money and the money of close friends, much less than 10 m €. From there they build a portfolio of 30 companies, of which some did really well. This in turn enabled them to raise an institutional fund, worth 150 m Euros. In the second fund, successful entrepreneurs from the first fund invested like the founder of Amorelie or the founders of Flixbus. Their portfolio is already pretty impressive and includes names our frequent followers will recognize, unicorns like Flixbus, Auto1 Group, Forto, Infarm. But they are also investors in well-known startups like Amorelie, Kitchen Stories, Flaschenpost, Spryker, and Superlist. Their portfolio also includes former guests, Qualifyze, Sanity Group, and Rows, for which you can find the interview link in the show notes. FURTHER READINGS / ADDITIONAL RESOURCES QUALIFYZE (AUDIO ONLY) https://player.captivate.fm/episode/220f49cc-2ef1-471a-bd5b-504d9235e892 [https://player.captivate.fm/episode/220f49cc-2ef1-471a-bd5b-504d9235e892] SANITY GROUP https://player.captivate.fm/episode/6c8572f9-ef9c-43c0-9bd1-3641a787a3bc [https://player.captivate.fm/episode/6c8572f9-ef9c-43c0-9bd1-3641a787a3bc] ROWS https://player.captivate.fm/episode/9beec601-bfc6-4921-b1ec-05ca641d7959 [https://player.captivate.fm/episode/9beec601-bfc6-4921-b1ec-05ca641d7959] LINKS AND SHOW NOTES Find all links and show notes here: https://medium.com/startuprad-io/meet-filip-one-of-germanys-most-successful-early-stage-vcs-cherry-ventures-gsa22-b344a9169b89 [https://medium.com/startuprad-io/meet-filip-one-of-germanys-most-successful-early-stage-vcs-cherry-ventures-gsa22-b344a9169b89] Mentioned in this episode: Startupraven.com Startupraven.com The best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups. Sign up for early access here: https://startupraven.com/ Younium is the Subscription Management Hub for B2B SaaS Companies Younium is the Subscription Management Hub for B2B SaaS Companies. Whether you’re looking to expand to new markets, experimenting with pricing models, or simply want a streamlined quote to cash process - Younium got your back. On top of that, Younium Insights provides the SaaS metrics you need for reporting to the board and for future company valuation. It gives you the key figures needed to drive your business forward and take strategic decisions. Learn more here https://www.younium.com/ This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policy Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy